Idle Scanner, Closed Theaters Plague New $1.5B Hospital

Emergency surgery patients at the new $1.5 billion Footscray Hospital are experiencing delays of up to three days, with doctors attributing the situation to significant funding and staffing shortfalls. These shortages have resulted in the closure of operating theatres, the inability to open approximately 170 beds, and a diagnostic scanner remaining idle. The demand for emergency surgery at Western Health has surged by 51% over the past five years.

Doctors express concern that the impressive new facility is hampered by a lack of operational funding, preventing it from meeting patient needs. The hospital's emergency department has seen median waiting times increase to 31 minutes, more than double the state average. Despite its capacity for over 500 beds, around 330 are currently operational, leaving many facilities unused due to insufficient staffing and funding.

Concerns have also been raised about a high-tech PET scanner being idle due to a lack of staff, forcing patients to seek private diagnostic services. While the government states the hospital's services will scale up gradually, medical professionals emphasize the urgent need for operational budgets to adequately staff the hospital and address critical waiting times for urgent procedures, a problem now seen across the state's health system.